MESSAGE   NO.  1 


Oil' 


HIS  EXCELLENCY,  F.  ¥.  PICKENS, 


TO 


I  THE    LEGISLATURE, 


AT   THE 


EXTRA  SESSION  OF  NOVEMBER,  1861. 


COLUMBIA,   S.   C: 
CHARLES  P.  PELHAM,  STATE  PRINTER. 

1861. 


MESSAGE   NO.  1 


OP 


HIS  EXCELLENCY,  F.  ¥.  PICKENS, 


TO 


THE    LEGISLATURE, 


AT   THE 


EXTEA  SESSION  OF  NOVEMBER,  18G1. 


COLUMBIA,    S.   C: 
CHAKLES  P.  PELHAM,  STATE  PRINTER. 

1861. 


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Duke  University  Libraries 


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MESSAGE    NO.    1. 


Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives : 

You  have  been  called  together  for  the  purpose  of  appointing  Electors  for 
President  and  Vice  President  of  these  Confederated  States,  which  has  to 
be  done  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  this  month. 

In  addition  to  this,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  present  state  of 
our  military  organization.  From  the  pressing  emergency  of  the  wax*,  so 
many  troops  have  been  called  into  active  service  that  the  remainder  of  our 
population,  fit  for  military  duty,  is  left  in  a  state  of  comparative  dis- 
organization. 

Under  the  late  Act  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty,  volunteer  regiments 
were  formed  out  of  the  old  militia  battalions,  and,  in  many  parts  of  the 
State  the  ofiicers  of  beat  companies,  battalions,  and  regiments,  have  entered 
the  neflT  volunteer  oi'ganizatious,  and  have  been  mustered  into  Confederate 
service. 

Under  this  Act  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty,  eleven  full  regiments 
have  been  formed  for  twelve  mouths.  The  Convention  also  rait-ed  one 
regiment  for  six  months.  Under  Confederate  authority,  a  full  and  most 
eflicicnt  legion  has,  likewise,  been  mustered  into  service.  Under  special 
requisition  from  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  two  regiments 
were  raised  for  and  during  the  war.  Eleven  of  these  regiments  are  now  in 
Virginia  (one  other  having  served  its  time  and  been  disbanded),  and  three 
on  our  own  sea-coast — in  all,  fifteen.  I  have,  also,  recently  mustered  into 
Confederate  service,  by  special  requisition  from  the  President,  four  more 
full  regiments,  for  and  during  the  war,  with  four  cavalry  and  two  light 
artillery  companies.  We  have,  moreover,  a  regiment  of  infantry  and  a 
battalion  of  regular  enlisted  forces.  These  will  make  an  aggregate  of  some- 
thing more  than  nineteen  thousand  men  now  in  actual  service.  Besides 
this,  I  have  the  troops  of  the  city  of  Charleston,  with  a  force  of  more  than 
three  thousand  effective  men,  placed  on  a  war  footing,  and  held  as  a  reserve, 
armed  and  e({uipped,  ready  for  any  emergency.  We  have,  in  addition, 
twenty-one  companies  of  cavalry  and  mounted  men  in  the  sea-coast  Parishes 
of  Charleston,  Beaufort,  Colleton,  and  Georgetown,  held  ready  for  imme- 


diate  service.  These  were  first  raised  under  special  resolutions  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  are  limited  to  ten  days  after  the  adjournment  of  the  regular 
session  of  the  Legislature.  I  suggest  that  you  make  the  organization  more 
permanent. 

I  authorized  an  independent  brigade  in  the  eastern  Districts,  towards  the 
coast,  of  guerilla  formation,  furnishing  their  own  arms,  and  prepared  to  act  in 
the  most  efficient  manner,  and  well  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  conforma- 
tion of  that  portion  of  the  country.  This  was  set  on  foot  by  an  experienced 
and  energetic  officer,  and  will  embrace,  perhaps,  some  three  thousand  men. 
I  recommend  it  to  your  early  attention,  and  think  it  might  be  confirmed  as 
a  legal  organization,  at  least  for  and  during  the  war.  The  country  is 
peculiar,  and  requires  a  native  local  force  of  that  kind  to  give  efficiency  to 
its  defence,  and  this  is  on  a  plan  least  expensive  to  the  State.  These 
remarks  are  also  applicable  to  the  twenty-one  mounted  companies  of  the 
sea-coast. 

I  recommend  that  there  be  immediately  a  new  military  organization 
throughout  the  State,  and  I  suppose  that  new  regimental  lines  will  have  to 
be  made  in  parts  of  the  country.  I  would  urge  that  all  field  officers  be 
appointed  by  the  Legislature,  or  by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate. 

The  Fourth  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  might  properly  remain  as 
it  is,  as  far  as  Charleston  is  concerned.  Their  organization  has  not  been  so 
much  deranged  by  their  officers  and  men  volunteering,  and  being  mustered 
into  new  and  other  service. 

It  is  essential  that  the  Legislature  shall  take  this  whole  matter  up  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  give  efficiency  and  stability  to  a  general  system, 
calculated  to  bring  all  the  reserves  of  the  State  into  immediate  organi- 
zation. 

There  is  great  pressure  upon  our  resources  at  present ;  but,  if  possible, 
I  would  recommend  that  the  State  should  raise,  arm  and  equip,  two  regi- 
ments, with  four  cavalry  companies,  and  two  companies  of  light  artillery, 
exclusively  for  State  purposes.  I  would  suggest  that  the  selection  of  all 
officers  for  the  same,  at  least  as  high  as  second  lieutenants,  inclusive,  shall 
be  confined  to  graduates  of  our  State  Military  Academy.  If  these  two 
State  regiments  are  raised,  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  will  be  required 
to  arm  and  sustain  them,  unless  there  should  be  no  necessity  to  call  them 
into  active  field  service. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  our  regular  enlisted  troops  shall  be 
reenlisted  for  the  war.  They  are  now  only  for  twelve  months,  and  we  can- 
not dispense  with  their  important  services  in  our  coast  garrisons.  Besides, 
the  experience  of  their  thorough-bred  officers  is  invaluable,  and  ought  to 
be  secured  permanently.     True,  they  have  been  received  into  Confederate 


service,  but  to  reenlist  the  men  will  require  bounties,  and  the  Confederate 
Government  may  not  provide  for  it  in  time.  I  therefore  recommend  that 
ample  provision  be  made,  in  advance,  for  this. 

Most  of  our  volunteer  regiments,  now  in  Virginia,  are  only  for  twelve 
months,  and  I  suggest  that  provision  be  made  to  secure,  if  possible,  their 
continuance  in  service  for  three  years,  or  for  the  war.  The  brave  and 
gallant  manner  in  which  they  have  served  the  country,  together  with  the 
experience  of  their  able  officers,  makes  it  of  the  highest  importance  that 
you  should  adopt  some  system  to  secure  the  certain  continuance  of  their 
services,  in  advance,  before  their  time  expires. 

The  Confederate  Government  has  imposed  a  direct  tax  of  fifty  cents  upon 
every  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  certain  property,  specified  in  the  Act,  to  be 
assessed  at  its  "  actual  marketable  value."  Those  who  own  such  property, 
amounting  to  less  than  five  hundred  dollars,  are  exempt  from  this  tax,  and 
this  will  exempt  a  large  amount  in  the  aggregate.  They  have,  also,  allowed 
each  State,  if  it  thinks  proper,  to  pay  its  own  quota,  as  a  State.  By  so 
doing,  ten  per  cent,  is  to  be  deducted. 

I  recommend  that  the  State  provide  for  the  payment  of  the  same,  and 
that  one-half  of  it  be  paid  by  taxes  imposed  for  that  purpose,  and  that  the 
other  half  be  raised  by  State  bonds  or  stocks,  to  be  issued  upon  such  terms 
as  your  wisdom  may  suggest.  By  thus  dividing  the  amount,  it  will  enable 
our  citizens  to  pay  the  other  half,  and  the  bonds  will  be  a  relief,  under 
present  pressure,  to  that  extent. 

I  call  your  attention  to  this  now,  because  the  assessment  will  have  to  be 
made  in  a  short  time,  and  it  requires  your  immediate  attention,  although, 
if  the  State  assumes  the  payment,  it  fs  not  actually  to  be  made  until 
April. 

The  Legislature  passed  some  appropriations  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  a 
war  that,  at  the  time,  many  did  not  anticipate  would  be  so  extensive  as  it 
has  turned  out  to  be. 

I  have  been  able  to  sustain  the  State,  through  a  period  of  great  difficulty, 
and  under  extraordinary  demands  for  expenditures,  such  as  have  never 
been  experienced  before,  and  yet  I  have  not  gone,  in  amount,  beyond  what 
was  strictly  allowed.  If  we  had  received  back  the  expenditures  we  have 
incurred  in  the  common  cause,  and  which  the  Confederate  Congress  pro- 
vided for  by  an  Act  of  great  liberality,  passed  expressly  for  our  benefit,  I 
should  now  be  able  to  present  you  with  a  balance. 

The  cash  expenditures,  through  the  Treasury  Department,  are  one  mil- 
lion eight  hundred  and  eighty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  dollars  and  seventeen  cents  (§1,889,371  17).  For  advances  made,  I 
have  had  accounts  and  vouchers  presented,  and  the  State  has  been  refunded, 


6 

from  tlie  Confederate  Governmeut,  sis  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars  (8086,774).  This  would  leave  one 
million  two  hundred  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
dollars  and  seventy-one  cents  ($1,202,597  71).  This  does  not  include  that 
portion  of  small  arms  and  ordnance  which  the  State  had  purchased  and 
provided  herself  with  some  years  since.  As  yet,  we  have  furnished  all  the 
troops  that  have  been  raised,  and  sent  out  of  the  State,  or  in  service  in  the 
State,  with  our  own  arms.  I  have  made  no  estimate  or  charge  for  these 
arms,  furnished  for  Confederate  service.  Accounts  aad  vouchers  for 
advances  made  to  the  Confederate  Government  have  been  presented,  but 
they  are  not  yet  audited.  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  they  will  be  as 
soon  as  the  Government  shall  be  relieved  from  the  great  pressure  as  to 
more  immediate  and  important  business. 

The  Legislature  provided,  as  one  of  the  means  to  meet  the  appro- 
priations, the  issue  of  bonds  at  seven  per  cent.,  limited  in  amount  to  six 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  Of  this  only  three  hundred 
and  seventy-five  thousand  have  been  issued.  They  also  authorized  bonds 
to  be  issued  to  provide  for  the  sea-coast  police,  to  the  amount  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  These  have  not  been  issued,  either.  This 
would  leave  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  bonds  authorized 
but  not  issued.  I  recommend  that  this  amount  be  immediately  changed  in- 
to stocks,  to  be  issued  and  sold  in  such  form  as  to  suit  purchasers,  and 
upon  such  terms  as  to  insure  available  means  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
Bank  of  the  State  has  acted  promptly  and  patriotically  in  making  advances 
to  the  State,  and  these  advances  ought  to  be  secured  in  some  tangible  form. 

I  have  necessarily  directed  some  expenditures,  under  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances, for  which  there  was  no  express  authority  by  law,  but  which  I 
trust  you  will  sanction. 

After  the  excessive  sufi'erings  of  our  brave  troops  in  Virginia,  I  directed, 
on  the  eighth  of  August  last,  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  be  deposited  in  a 
bank  in  Richmond,  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  I  also  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  colonels  of  the  two  first  regiments  I  sent  to  Virginia,  two 
thousand  dollars  each,  for  any  extra  necessities  that  might  be  required  for 
their  regiments. 

I  also  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  Quartermaster  of  General  Bonham's 
stafi"  five  thousand  dollars,  for  immediate  wants.  I  was  called  on,  under 
sudden  and  extraordinary  circumstances,  to  send  troops  to  Virginia,  and,  as 
there  was  then  no  general  organization  of  any  kind,  I  thought  it  right  that 
those  whom  I  sent  out  of  the  State  should  not  suffer  for  anything.  I  also 
sent  on  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  pay  our  first  regiment  of  volunteers,  in 
Richmond.     In  all  these  matters^  I  trust  to  receive  your  direct  sanction. 


I  refer  you  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  which  will 
give  you  all  details  iu  full,  and  in  such  a  lucid  form  as  may  be  easily 
understood. 

T  take  this  occasion  to  recommend  that  you  abolish  the  Treasuries  of  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Divisions,  making;  one  Treasury  and  one  office.  This  will 
simplify  all  State  accounts  very  much,  and  enable  you  to  give  system  to  the 
whole.  No  local  interests  ought  to  be  consulted  in  such  an  organization  of 
our  Treasury.     This  will  require  the  action  of  two  successive  Legislatures. 

I  also  urgently  recommend  that  there  shall  be  a  change  in  your  system 
of  taxation.  The  artificial  value  given  to  lands  below  or  above  a  certain 
line  run  through  the  State,  originated  in  a  condition  of  things,  at  the  period 
of  eighteen  hundred  and  eight,  which  no  longer  exists.  There  ought  to 
be  a  true  and  just  valuation  of  land  made,  no  matter  where  it  may  be 
located.  The  tax  on  what  is  denominated  town  property  is  liable  to  objec- 
tion, and  should  be  modified.  The  true  system  is,  to  raise  as  little  as 
possible  from  active  productive  labor,  and  impose  taxes  upon  accumulated 
capital  and  evidences  of  luxury. 

In  this  State,  the  system  has  been,  to  raise  far  the  larger  portion  from 
productive  labor.  If  this  were  changed,  and  a  wise  system  adopted,  one- 
third  more  could,  be  raised,  and  really  be  felt  less.  It  would  greatly 
increase  the  resources  of  the  State,  and  at  this  period,  when  all  taxes  will 
be  felt  deeply,  you  cannot  too  soon  devote  your  serious  attention  to  this 
subject. 

From  the  20th  of  December  last  until  the  9th  of  February,  this 
State  acted  alone.  She  was  entirely  separate  and  independent.  During 
this  period  we  incurred  heavy  expenditures.  In  taking  Castle  Pinckuey, 
Fort  Moultrie,  and  the  late  United  States  Arsenal,  we  acquired  large  sup- 
plies of  heavy  ordinance,  arms,  and  munitions  of  war.  As  we  took  the 
responsibility  of  acting  alone,  and  of  risking  all,  we  were  fairly  entitled  to 
all  we  acquired.  For  the  heavy  expenditures  we  thus  incurred,  up  to  the 
8th  of  February,  I  have,  as  yet,  presented  no  claim  or  account  against  the 
Confederate  Government.  Our  Convention  transferred,  by  ordinance,  all 
these  public  works  and  forts,  with  their  armament,  and  so  forth,  to  the 
common  Government.  By  every  principle  of  public  law,  we  are  entitled  to 
the  expenses  incurred  during  that  period,  and  I  doubt  not  but,  when  pre- 
sented, the  claim  will  be  recognized. 

Circumstances  placed  us  in  the  van  in  this  march  to  independence.  We 
claim  no  exclusive  merit,  but,  under  severe  censure,  and  the  most  trying 
circumstances,  we  only  endeavored  to  do  our  duty,  faithfully  and  bravely. 
Events  have  since  vindicated  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  our  course,  and 
I  confidently  appeal  to  the  future,  with  the  proud  consciousness  that  pos- 
terity will  exultingly  point  to  every  page  of  history,  as  tablets  on  whose 


marble  surface  shall  be  engraved  the  record  of  our  honor  unstained,  and  of 
our  integrity  without  a  blemish. 

Soon  after  the  8th  of  February,  the  Confederate  Provisional  Grovernment 
was  formed,  and,  by  the  authority  of  our  Convention,  we  yielded  our 
separate  and  independent  action,  and  assumed  the  obligations  of  the  Con- 
federate compact. 

The  regular  constitutional  Grovernment,  under  that  compact,  is  now  to  be 
inaugurated  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  February,  and  I  respectfully 
recommend  that  you  give  it  your  loyal  and  faithful  support,  by  all  the  con- 
stitutional means  at  your  command. 

The  sea-coast  police  has  been  the  cause  of  much  interest  and  exertion  in 
the  first  of  the  year,  and  I  refer  you  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  for  all  the  details  in  relation  to  its  administration  in  the  last  few 
months.  This  will  show  the  activity  and  care  that  has  been  exercised  in 
that  department.  I  submit  that  the  funds  deposited  to  the  credit  of  that 
department  be  now  appropriated  to  any  branch  of  the  public  service  you 
may  deem  proper.  The  jurisdiction  now  assumed  by  the  Confederate 
Government  may  relieve  us,  before  long,  from  any  further  duties  in  relation 
to  that  branch  of  public  service,  although  we  must,  of  course,  be  ready  to 
aid  and  assist,  by  all  means  in  our  power,  any  eflfbrts  on  the  part  of  our 
common  Government  to  protect  our  coast. 

The  Legislature  authorized  the  issue  of  bonds,  to  the  amount  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  for  this  special  purpose.  I  did  not  use 
these  bonds  at  all,  except  to  hypothecate  them  with  the  President  of  the 
Bank  of  the  State,  as  collateral,  on  account  of  advances  made  by  the  Bank 
I  in  like  manner  used  the  power  given  me  to  direct  the  Bank  to  issue  re- 
ceivable paper,  not  to  exceed  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  report  of  the  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General  will  give  you  accurate 
information  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  military.  This  office  has  been 
one  of  great  labor,  requiring  a  high  degree  of  bureau  talent  and  informa- 
tion, at  this  peculiar  juncture  in  our  afikirs.  I  think,  in  every  respect^ 
what  he  has  done  will  be  satisfactory. 

The  College  has  been  seriously  interrupted  by  the  condition  of  afiairs  in 
the  country,  and  the  young  men,  who  were  full  of  patriotism  and  zeal, 
could  not  be  restrained  from  entering  into  active  service.  It  is  now,  how- 
ever, in  full  operation,  with  a  very  respectable  number  of  students.  I 
fondly  hope  that  no  circumstances  will  be  allowed  to  interfere  permanently 
with  the  exercises  of  this  noble  institution.  I  believe  it  is  the  only  institu- 
tion of  the  kind  entirely  endowed  by  the  State,  and  managed  by  public 
authority,  in  the  confederated  States.  There  are,  apparently,  many  objec- 
tions to  the  peculiar  organization  of  such  an  institution ;  but  when  we  look 
to  the  practical  results,  and  the  large  public  benefit  it  confers,  we  must  be 


constrained  to  yield  all  such  objections.  Througli  a  public  institution, 
controlled  by  tbe  Government,  we  are  enabled  to  educate  our  young  men 
with  high  feelings  of  public  devotion  to  the  country,  and  bind  them  with 
stronger  and  more  exclusive  ties  of  first  allegiance  to  the  State.  It  is  this 
institution  which,  by  dispensing  education  equally  through  the  common- 
wealth, has  done  more  to  make  us  a  united  and  a  loyal  people,  than  any 
other  single  cause.  Any  State,  with  common  judgment,  can  develope  the 
wealth  and  physical  resources  of  a  people,  but  it  is  not  every  State  that  can 
produce  an  heroic  and  intellectual  race  of  men.  Public  schools  and  literary 
institutions,  nobly  and  generously  endowed,  where  virtue,  truth  and  patriot- 
ism are  taught  as  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  life — without  which  life  itself  is 
not  worth  preserving — can  alone  produce  a  manly  race  and  brave  men  as 
indigenous  to  the  soil.  A  large  State,  with  vast  resources,  may  present  to 
the  world  a  teeming  population,  but  this  does  not  constitute  a  great  State. 
A  cultivated  and  intellectual  people,  whose  public  institutions  train  them  to 
think  boldly  and  freely,  and  who  have  the  heroic  daring  to  do  their  duty 
faithfully  to  themselves  and  the  world,  furnish  all  those  qualities  which 
command  the  admiration  and  respect  of  mankind.  We  should,  therefore, 
spend  freely  on  anything  calculated  to  elevate  the  mural  and  intellectual 
culture  of  our  people. 

The  Military  Academy  has,  at  this  important  period,  furnished  us  young 
men  of  thorough  military  education  and  training,  who  have  been  of  good 
service.  The  Cadets  of  the  Citadel  Academy,  in  Charleston,  under  imme- 
diate command  of  the  scientific  officer  theu  at  the  head  of  that  institution, 
were  the  first  corps  I  directed  to  occupy  a  new  battery  on  the  channel,  with 
positive  orders  to  open  the  fire.  At  this  battery  they  nobly  did  their  duty, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Vigilant  Rifles,  German  Kiflemen,  and  Zouave 
Cadets.  On  the  9th  day  of  January  last,  they  drew  the  lanyard  of  the  very 
first  cannon  that  was  ever  fired  into  a  vessel  bearing  the  flag  of  the  old 
Union,  and  triumphantly  drove  her  back,  filled,  as  she  was,  with  armed  men 
to  invade  our  soil,  and  sailing  under  special  orders  from  the  Licutenant- 
General  of  the  United  States,  marked  by  attendant  circumstances  of  treachery 
and  duplicity.  It  was  this  cannon  which  opened  upon  the  '<  Star  of  the 
West,"  that  called  a  half-million  of  freemen  to  arms  in  this  our  second  war 
of  independence. 

In  several  points  of  view,  these  Military  Academies  have  fully  vindicated 
the  wisdom  of  those  who  founded  them,  and  I  now  recomn  end  that  they 
be  united  into  one  institution,  and  that  the  appropriation  be  increased,  so  as 
to  enlarge  its  usefulness. 

When  the  institution  is  united,  it  should  be  located  at  the  most  suitable 
place.     I  would   suggest  that,  perhaps,   the  most  appropriate   place  for  it 
would  be  Sullivan's  Island.     With  this  view,  I  would  recommend  that  the 
2 


-      10 

State  procure  tlie  retrocession  of  Fort  Moultrie  for  the  purpose  of  connecting 
it  with  the  academy,  to  be  used  as  a  post  for  drill  and  exercise  in  heavy 
artillery  and  jjractical  gunnery. 

Since  Fort  Sumter  has  been  put  in  complete  order,  with  all  the  guns  for 
the  first  time  mounted,  it  entirely  commands,  not  only  the  harbor  of  Charles- 
ton and  its  entrance,  but  Fort  Moultrie,  and  therefore  the  possession  of  this 
latter  fortress  is  not  at  all  essential  to  the  Confederate  Government. 

With  the  State  Military  Academy  located  on  Sullivan's  Island,  Fort 
Moultrie  could  be  kept  in  repair  and  thorough  order  by  the  cadets,  and  thus 
save  an  annual  expense  to  the  Confederate  Government,  and  besides,  it  would 
add  much  to  the  practical  knowledge  of  the  cadets.  No  expense  should 
deter  us  from  placing  this  academy  on  the  highest  footing. 

We  ought  to  enlarge  its  usefulness,  by  admitting  cadets  from  other  States, 
except,  of  course,  those  who  may  be  beneficiaries.  By  enlarging  the  ca- 
pacity of  this  institution,  we  not  only  secure  that  science  and  training  so 
essential  in  all  modern  warfare,  but  so  absolutely  necessary  to  give  a  small 
State  the  capacity  to  defend  itself  from  the  strong  and  powerful.  In  the 
present  situation  of  our  country,  the  State  that  gives  her  people  the  highest 
military  education  will  be  most  deeply  felt  in  all  the  struggles  that  must 
inevitably  arise  in  the  future. 

I  trust  the  Institution  for  the  education  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  will  con- 
tinue to  receive  your  bounty  and  care.  The  Lunatic  Asylum,  I  hope,  will 
ever  remain  a  noble  monument  of  your  constant  and  munificent  benevolence. 

The  issue  of  the  six  per  cent,  bonds,  authorized  to  carry  on  the  State 
House,  was  limited  to  their  being  sold  at  not  less  than  ninety-five  cents  in 
the  dollar.  As  the  sale  could  not  be  effected  at  this  rate,  I  gave  notice  to 
the  superintendent  to  suspend  all  further  work.  He  represented  that  some 
work  was  essential  to  preserve  the  fine  quarry  from  injury  by  freshets,  and 
it  was  done.  Some  work  on  the  finer  marble  has  also  been  continued — on 
an  arrangement  made  by  the  superintendent  with  the  Bank,  and  at  the  risk, 
I  believe,  of  the  contractors  themselves.  All  other  work  has  been  suspended. 
It  is  a  building  fashioned  on  a  very  superior  model,  and  will  compare  favor- 
ably, as  to  style,  with  almost  any  work,  and  the  material  is  all  of  the  best 
kind.  Although  it  has  been  commenced  on  a  scale  much  beyond  our  limited 
means,  yet  everything  ought  to  be  immediately  provided  to  preserve  it  from 
the  weather  at  present.  I  suggest  that  it  ought  to  be  permanently  covered, 
and  this  can  be  done  now  at  a  cost  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  contractors  would  take  the  bonds  ordered  to  be  issued  at 
six  per  cent.,  even  if  below  the  ninety-five  cents,  and  receive  them  in  pay- 
ment. If  so,  it  might  be  directed  to  the  amount  necessary  to  cover  the 
building,  provided  the  contract  for  the  same  should  not  be  increased  in 
amount  to  meet  an^  depressed  value  of  the  bonds. 


11 

In  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  and 
fourteen  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents  were  received  from  the  United  States 
Government,  as  due  South  Carolina  on  account  of  distribution  from  sale  of 
public  lands.  I  recommend  that  it  be  passed  to  the  credit  of  the  Treasury, 
and  appropriated.  There  are  also  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars, balance  from  an  appropriation  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  Palmetto 
Regiment.     This  should  be  immediately  passed  to  the  credit  of  the  Treasury. 

There  are  many  of  our  citizens,  and  some  of  them  of  large  fortunes,  nt)W 
residing  out  of  the  State.  At  this  period,  when  the  services,  in  some  form, 
of  every  son  of  South  Carolina  may  be  absolutely  necessary,  I  submit  to  you 
the  propriety  of  calling  them  home,  and  it  is  for  your  wisdom  to  annex  the 
conditions  you  may  think  proper  to  such  a  call. 

It  is  a  source  of  great  satisflxction  to  me  to  draw  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  all  classes  of  our  people,  without  exception,  have  been  loyal  and 
devoted  to  the  State  in  this  her  day  of  trial,  and  amongst  them  I  would 
particularly  say  that  the  free  people  of  color  have  done  their  duty,  also.  At 
an  important  time  last  spring,  when  the  whole  of  our  population  were 
intensely  excited,  from  Columbia,  and  Charleston,  and  elsewhere,  they  for- 
mally oiTered  their  services  to  me,  to  act  in  any  capacity  in  which  they  might 
serve  their  State.  They  were,  in  many  instances,  employed.  I  trust  the 
day  is  far  distant  when  this  State  will  refuse  to  extend  her  guardian  pro- 
tection to  this  unfortunate  and  helpless  class  of  our  people. 

There  is  a  remnant  of  the  Catawba  Indians  in  our  State,  and  I  feel  assured 
that  they  will  receive  your  usual  care  and  attention. 

Many  benevolent  and  kind  citizens  of  our  State  have,  with  great  energy 
and  devotion  to  the  sick  and  wounded  of  our  soldiers  in  Virginia,  estab- 
lished hospitals  in  their  own  way,  which  have  been  a  great  relief  to  our 
sufi'ering  men  in  a  distant  country.  I  recommend  that  every  aid  and  facility, 
consistent  with  the  public  means,  may  be  extended  to  them  in  their  patriotic 
and  Christian  exertions.  I  have  transmitted,  through  the  Aid  Society  in 
Charleston,  four  thousand  dollars  to  the  St.  Charles  Hospital  in  Richmond, 
and  trust  it  will  meet  your  sanction.  Whether  anything  like  a  State  Hos- 
pital should  be  established  there,  as  permanent,  is  for  your  judgment  to 
decide.  I  doubt  the  propriety  of  systematically  interfering  with  the  regular 
provision  made  for  all  such  things  by  the  common  Government,  and  under 
strict  army  regulations.  But  in  extraordinary  vicissitudes  of  sickness,  or 
after  great  battles,  these  establishments  might  be,  as  they  have  been,  of 
incalculable  service. 

In  addition  to  the  difficulties  that  war  always  brings  upon  a  country,  we 
labor  at  this  time  under  stringent  pressure,  from  the  sale  of  all  productions 
for  exportation  being  suspended.  Our  banks  are  banks  both,  of  discount 
and   circulation,  and  practically,  they  hold  the  only  circulating  medium. 


12 

They  suspended  the  redemption  of  their  bills  issued.  The  Legislature 
legalized  that  suspension.  Then,  if  their  issues  are  contracted,  and  circu- 
lation withdrawn,  the  difficulty  of  paying  debts  and  meeting  taxation  be- 
comes greatly  increased.  It  would  seem  that  under  such  circumstances, 
where  the  Legislature  have  interposed  to  relieve  the  banks  from  the  obli- 
gation to  pay  their  notes,  some  course  ought  to  be  adopted,  if  consistent 
with  safe  precedent,  to  protect  the  people  also  from  the  temporary  difficul- 
ties by  which  we  are  surrounded.  All  tampering,  of  any  kind,  with  pi'o- 
duce  by  Government,  in  any  shape  or  form,  is  generally  unwise  and  unjust. 
If  anything  of  the  kind  is  ever  to  be  done,  let  it  be  done  by  the  State  Gov- 
ernments, rather  than  by  the  General  or  Confederate  Government,  for  all 
power,  not  expressly  granted,  is  reserved  to  the  States.  The  exercise,  by 
the  Confederate  Government,  of  any  power  not  expressly  granted,  is  not 
only  without  authority,  but,  on  so  vital'  a  point,  it  is  dangerous,  as  calculated, 
if  habitually  acted  upon,  to  affect  deeply  the  distribution  of  wealth,  and  the 
interests  of  productive  labor.  If  anything  is  done,  it  should  be  done  by 
the  States,  and  I  suggest  that,  perhaps,  as  we  have  a  State  institution,  it 
might  be  used  to  advance  on  produce  one-half  of  its  value,  upon  receipts 
for  the  same  being  deposited,  with  a  view  to  give  a  lien,  to  secure  the 
amount  advanced  first,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  claims.  Public  policy 
will  require  that  you  should  continue  to  legalize  the  suspension  of  the 
banks.  This  continuation  might  be  made  upon  certain  conditions  resting 
upon  similar  advances  to  be  made  from  all  the  banks. 

As  our  soldiers  are  nobly  serving  their  country,  and  at  a  great  distance 
from  home,  some  stay  of  execution  or  levy  upon  their  property  should  be 
directed  by  law.  Everything  of  this  kind  must  be  done  with  great  caution, 
so  as  not  to  be  made  a  precedent.  There  is  no  power  so  dangerous,  and 
generally  so  unjust,  as  for  any  Government  to  interfere,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  with  contracts,  and  if  ever  done,  it  ought  to  be  limited  to  absolute 
necessity.  Integrity,  faith,  and  stern  justice  are  qualities  more  essential  in 
Governments  than  even  amongst  individuals,  because  of  their  wide-spread 
influence. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  the  day  after  I  was  inaugurated,  I  sent  a 
confidential  agent  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  demanding  posses- 
sion of  Fort  Sumter,  upon  conditions  somewhat  the  same  as  those  upon 
which  I  understood  the  United  States  Arsenal  had  been  previously  allowed 
to  be  placed  under  a  State  guard.  One  of  my  objects  was,  to  ascertain,  in 
the  most  authentic  manner,  the  real  intention  of  the  President  in  relation 
to  the  occupation  of  the  forts  in  our  harbor,  and  to  shape  my  own  course 
accordingly.  A  copy  of  this  letter,  with  accompanying  explanations  of  the 
agent,  I  sent  to  Washington,  together  with  a  communication  from  a  distin- 
guished citizen,  appointed;  as  I  have  since  been  informed,  by  my  predeces- 


13 

sor,  to  remain  at  Washington,  as  confidential  representative  of  the  State, 
are  herewith  transmitted,  for  your  information  of  all  details.  The  day  on 
■which  my  letter  was  presented  to  the  President,  I  was  telegraphed  by  high 
and  responsible  representatives  from  this  State,  to  withdraw  it,  on  account 
of  an  understanding,  that  had  been  recognized,  that  there  should  be  no 
interference  with  the  status  of  the  forts  in  any  way,  until  Commissioners 
from  this  State  should  be  appointed  to  proceed  to  "Washington,  and  represent 
the  State  fully  on  all  points  at  issue,  connected  with  the  forts  and  public 
property. 

On  the  18th  of  December  I  went  to  Charleston,  and  immediately 
ordered  a  very  responsible  officer,  with  a  detachment,  to  arm  and  equip  a 
guard  boat,  with  specific  orders  to  prevent,  if  possible,  any  movement  of 
troops  from  Fort  31oultrie  to  Fort  Sumter,  and  if  such  a  thing  was  attempted, 
to  forbid  it,  and,  if  persevered  in,  to  resist  it  by  force,  and  then  immediately 
to  take  Fort  Sumter  at  all  hazards.  At  that  time  there  was  but  a  small 
guard  in  this  fortress,  and  it  was  in  no  condition  for  defence. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  the  President  of  the  United  States  sent 
General  Gushing,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  to  me,  with  a 
letter,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  transmitted.  I  had  but  a  short  inter- 
view with  him,  and  told  him  I  would  return  no  reply  to  the  President's 
letter,  except  to  say,  very  candidly,  that  there  was  no  hope  for  the  Union, 
and  that,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned,  I  intended  to  maintain  the  separate 
independence  of  South  Carolina,  and  from  this  purpose,  neither  temptation 
nor  danger  should,  for  a  moment,  deter  me.  He  said  that  he  could  not  say 
what  changes  circumstances  might  produce,  but  when  he  left  Washington, 
there  was  then  no  intention  whatever  to  change  the  status  of  the  forts  in 
our  harbor  in  any  way. 

Notwithstanding  the  distinct  pledge  of  honorable  faith,  made  previous 
to  this,  and  then  this  renewal  of  it,  the  commandant  of  Fort  Moultrie,  on 
the  night  of  the  2Gth  of  December,  moved  all  his  forces  from  Fort 
Moultrie  to  Fort  Sumter,  with  his  munitions  of  war,  after  first  spiking  the 
guns,  cutting  down  the  flag-stafi",  and  burning  the  gun-carriages. 

This  fortress  was  the  well  known  key  to  the  harbor,  and  the  move  was 
intended  to  hold  us  in  subjugation,  and  enable  the  garrison  to  be  reinforced, 
with  a  view  to  hold  the  post  permanently.  This  move  was  a  violation  of 
all  manly  faith,  and  could  be  looked  upon  in  no  other  light  than  an  open 
act  of  hostility.  They  still  possessed  Castle  Pinckney,  with  guns  bearing 
directly  upon  the  city.  This  is  a  fortress  originally  intended  to  protect  the 
inner  harbor. 

I  immediately,  on  the  morning  after  they  had  moved  from  Fort  Moultrie, 
ordered  select  forces  to  take  Castle  Pinckney,  at  all  hazards,  and  gave  a 
similar  order  to  occupy  Sullivan's  Island,  and  to  proceed  cautiously,  after 


14 

examination  as  to  mines,  and  take  Fort  J^Ioultrie.  These  orders  were 
executed  tlie  same  day. 

I  had,  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  of  December,  requested  the  Com- 
missioner sent  to  our  Convention  from  Alabama,  to  give  the  Governor 
of  that  State  official  notice  that  I  intended  to  take  the  forts,  if  there  was 
any  attemj^t  to  change  their  status,  and  to  request  that  he  would  act  in  like 
manner  as  to  the  forts  in  Mobile  harbor.  I  made  the  same  communication 
to  the  Commissioner  from  Mississippi,  as  to  my  intention,  and  I  would  have 
done  the  same  to  the  representatives  of  any  other  sister  State,  if  they  had 
been  here. 

After  I  occupied  these  forts,  I  consulted  engineers,  and  immediately 
commenced  the  batteries  on  the  channel,  to  endeavor  to  prevent  supplies  or 
reinforcements,  and  also  ordered  a  detachment  to  take  possession  of  Fort 
Johnson,  and  prevent  all  communication  from  the  garrison  in  Fort  Sumter. 
Copies  of  the  general  orders,  connected  with  all  these  movements,  I  here- 
with transmit  for  your  information,  with  other  papers,  which  will  give  the 
reasons  by  which  I  was  influenced  at  the  time. 

On  the  9th  day  of  January,  I  ordered  a  plan  to  be  agreed  upon  by  our 
engineers,  and  reported  to  me,  for  the  most  certain  and  scientific  mode  of 
reducing  the  fortress,  and  upon  that  plan  the  batteries  were  erected  which 
finally  did  reduce  it.  Copies  of  this  plan,  and  the  orders,  are  also  trans- 
mitted. 

I  had  issued  orders  to  prevent,  if  possible,  all  reinforcements  or  supplies, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  fire  on  any  vessel  that  might  attempt  to  enter  the 
harbor.  On  the  9th  of  January,  a  large  vessel,  bearing  two  hundred  and 
fifty  United  States  troops,  with  arms  and  supplies  of  all  sorts,  was  fired  into 
and  driven  back.  A  few  days  before  this,  a  telegram  from  a  member  of 
the  Cabinet  at  Washington  was  shown  to  me,  asserting  that  no  such  vessel 
wquld  be  seut,  and  a  great  effort  was  made  to  induce  me  to  suspend  the 
order  to  fire.  Major  Anderson  demanded  a  disavowal  of  the  act,  accompanied 
with  a  positive  threat,  that,  if  not  disavowed  by  me,  he  would  open  fire  upon 
any  vessel  with  our  flag  in  the  harbor.  I  avowed  the  act :  he  retracted  his 
threat,  and  asked  time  to  consult  his  Government.  After  his  suggestion  on 
that  point,  I  sent  to  Washington  our  highest  law  officer  in  the  State,  a 
gentleman  of  eminent  standing  and  worth,  in  order  to  act  in  the  fairest  and 
most  liberal  spirit.  This  correspondence  has  all  been  published,  and  shows 
the  imbecility  and  duplicity  by  which  our  opponents  conducted  the  issues 
then  presented. 

After  President  Lincoln  was  inaugurated,  he  sent,  in  the  latter  part  of 
March,  a  confidential  agent,  Mr.  Fox,  who  was  introduced  by  a  gallant 
officer  of  our  navy.  He  said  he  desired  to  visit  Fort  Sumter,  and  that  his 
objects  were  "  entirely  pacific."     Upon  the  guarantee  of  the  officer  intro- 


J 


15 

dueing  liim,  Captain  Hartstene,  Le  was  permitted  to  visit  ^Fajor  Anderson 
in  company  with  Captain  Hartstene,  expressly  upon  tlie  pledge  of  ''pacific 
purposes."  Notwithstanding  this,  he  actually  reported  a  plan  for  the  rein 
forcement  of  the  garrison  by  force,  which  was  adopted.  Major  Anderson 
protested  against  it.  I  enclose  with  this  a  copy  of  papers,  to  be  used  under 
your  wise  discretion,  which  will  place  these  facts  beyond. controversy. 

In  a  very  few  days  after,  another  confidential  agent,  Colonel  Lamon,  was 
sent  by  the  President,  who  informed  me  that  he  had  come  to  try  and 
arrange  for  the  removal  of  the  garrison,  and,  when  he  returned  from  the 
fort,  asked  if  a  war  vessel  could  not  be  allowed  to  remove  them.  I  replied, 
that  no  war  vessel  could  be  allowed  to  enter  the  harbor  on  any  terms.  He 
said  he  believed  Major  Anderson  preferred  an  ordinary  steamer,  and  I 
agreed  that  the  garrison  might  be  thus  removed.  He  said  he  hoped  to 
return  in  a  very  few  days  for  that  purpose.  Then,  on  the  8th  of  April, 
Mr.  Chew,  an  official  in  the  State  Department,  was  sent,  in  company  with 
Lieutenant  Talbot,  and  read  to  me  a  paper,  which  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  he  said,  had  directed  him  to  read  to  me,  in  relation  to  send- 
ing in  supplies  to  the  fort.  He  gave  me  no  information  as  to  anything,  but 
only  read  the  paper,  and  said  he  was  not  even  directed  to  ask  my  reply.  I 
sent  for  General  Beauregard,  as  the  commanding  General  on  the  part  of 
the  Confederate  Government,  and  had  the  paper  again  read  in  his  presence. 
A  copy  of  this  paper  is  herewith  transmitted.  It  bears  upon  its  face  an 
utter  want  of  manliness  and  straight-forward  conduct.  I  give  this  minute 
statement  of  facts,  because  they  are  deeply  important  to  a  thorough  under- 
standing of  the  true  origin  of  this  fierce  and  malignant  war,  which  prac- 
tically commenced  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Sumter,  on  the  13th  of  April 
last.  Its  efi"ccts  will  be  deeply  felt  throughout  the  world,  and  it  is  due  to 
our  sister  States  that  they  shall  know  the  part  which  we  were  forced  to  act 
in  its  origin. 

Every  step  in  the  commencement  of  this  terrible  conflict  has  been 
marked  by  deception  and  duplicity  on  the  part  of  our  enemies.  By  so 
doing,  they  have  inaugurated  events  well  calculated  to  produce  not  only  a 
profound  impression  upon  our  own  country,  but  upon  the  destiny  of  Ameri- 
can civilization ;  and  we  have  every  reason  to  be  deeply  grateful,  as  a 
Christian  people,  to  a  .superintending  Providence,  for  the  direction  given, 
thus  fiir,  to  these  events.  The  whole  rise  and  growth  of  these  States  of 
North  America,  has  been  the  most  rapid  and  gigantic  ever  before  exhibited 
amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Under  institutions  the  most  popular  and 
captivating  to  the  enthusiastic  mind,  we  had  made  such  developement  of 
strength  and  power,  in  little  more  than  three-quarters  of  century,  as  seemed 
to  overshadow  most  modern  a-overuments. 


16 

In  theory,  the  distribution  of  all  power  appeared  to  rest  upon  principles 
of  equality  and  justice;  and  if  the  Government  had  been  honestly  and  wisely 
administered,  it  was  the  noblest  system  ever  created  for  rational  men.  But 
man  was,  as  he  ever  has  been,  selfish  and  ambitious,  and,  under  the  guide 
of  those  passions,  the  whole  system  became  thoroughly  perverted  from  its 
original  designs. 

It  was  a  Confederated  Republic,  with  powers  expressly  granted  by  States, 
and  defined  under  a  limited  compact  or  constitution,  and  never  was,  in  any 
sense,  a  simple  democracy,  with  a  majority  of  people  to  govern.  It  was  this 
profound  fallacy  as  to  a  democracy,  originated  by  designing  demagogues  or 
superficial  thinkers,  which,  within  the  last  thirty  years,  radically  changed 
the  whole  nature  of  the  Government. 

In  the  Northern  States,  they  had  no  division  of  classes  or  castes  that 
were  openly  acknowledged  as  the  fundamental  law  of  society,  and,  as  a 
natural  consequence,  the  only  division  was  between  capitalists  and  laborers. 
The  former,  to  act  more  efficiently  in  the  struggle  for  ascendency,  became 
organized  under  the  style  and  title  of  corporations,  in  every  shape  and  form, 
from  the  smallest  to  the  highest  matters.  This  was  done  in  order  to  give 
associated  wealth  more  and  more  absolute  power  over  labor.  This  was  their 
political  slavery.  After  they  had  thus  mastered  the  labor  of  the  North, 
they  engaged  in  a  struggle  to  master  the  Federal  Government,  and,  through 
it,  to  make  the  labor  of  the  South  also  tributary  to  their  power  and  wealth. 
To  bring  their  numbers  to  bear  in  a  consolidated  democracy,  was  essential 
to  their  designs.  They  then  called  in  that  fanatical  element  of  their  igno- 
rant classes,  through  which  the  designing  and  the  wary  could  make  them 
subservient  to  their  ultimate  designs. 

In  the  South,  it  was  the  reverse  of  this.  There  were  ranks  and  there 
were  castes  acknowledged  in  the  fundamental  law  of  our  society,  and  this 
was  the  division  between  master  and  slave. 

The  white  race  was  a  privileged  race  of  rank  and  political  power.  It  was 
not  a  division  between  capitalists  and  laborers,  for  here  capitalists  owned 
laborers,  and  were,  therefore,  interested  in  the  profits  of  daily  labor.  In  fact, 
they  were  themselves,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  laborers  as  well  as  capi- 
talists. Hence  it  was,  we  wanted  no  increase  in  the  power  of  government 
over  productive  labor,  nor  did  we  need  associated  wealth,  in  the  form  of  cor- 
porations, to  subjugate  the  labor  of  the  country,  for  we  had,  as  individuals, 
all  that  power  already. 

Under  such  fundamental  difibrences  as  these,  the  preservation  of  separate 
States  in  the  form  of  a  Republic,  with  a  limited  compact,  was  the  very  law 
of  our  existence,  and  the  perversion  to  a  simple  democracy  of  mere  num- 
bers, was  our  political  death.  The  most  corrupt  of  all  governments,  if 
extensive  enough  to  embrace  different  interests,  is  a  simple  democracy  of 


17 

numbers.  It  necessarily  soon  runs  into  practical  anarchy,  and  thence  into 
a  military  despotism,  as  protection  from  the  horrors  of  anarchy.  Now  that 
the  Northern  States  are  forced  to  organize  to  themselves,  this  career,  to  them, 
is  as  certain  as  destiny  itself,  and  is  inherent  in  their  very  organization. 

Under  these  circumstances,  if  we  fail  to  grow  wise  from  the  lessons  of 
experience,  and  allow  any  considerations  to  weaken  the  federative  action  of 
our  system,  and  increase  the  tendency  to  a  simple  democracy  of  numbers, 
we,  too,  will  soon  sink  into  the  same  ruin,  where  an  unrestrained  military 
government  will  raise  its  strong  and  mighty  structure,  beneath  whose  shadow 
the  very  boundai-ies  of  the  States  will  be  lost  and  forgotten  amid  the  scat- 
tered fragments  of  a  broken  and  dismembered  empire. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  danger  of  our  being  subjugated  by  the  North. 
Those  who  conceived  such  an  idea  had  but  little  knowledge  as  to  the 
elements  of  real  power.  They  are  vastly  defective  in  all  those  qualities 
necessary  for  effective  military  organization,  particularly  for  purposes  of 
invasion,  while  the  institutions  of  the  South  train  our  people  to  individual 
self-reliance,  and  to  police  regulations  with  disciplined  order.  There  are  no 
agricultural  people  so  essentially  military  in  their  early  training  as  are  the 
slave-holding  race  of  the  South. 

Wherever  slaves  exist,  with  the  distinctive  marks  of  a  separate  race, 
it  is  a  privilege  and  rank  to  be  free.  Under  these  circumstances,  you 
may  exterminate  the  dominant  race,  but  you  can  never  permanently 
subjugate  it.  When  the  lower  strata  of  society  is  occupied  by  an  inferior 
race,  who  make  no  pretension  to  political  equality  or  power,  the  entire 
ruling  race  can  be  brought  into  active  service  for  all  purposes  of  defence, 
without  drawing  materially  from  the  productive  field  labor  necessary  to 
aflford  support. 

Although  we  have  actually  called  into  military  service  the  largest  force, 
in  proportion  to  our  population,  known  in  modern  times,  yet  the  provision 
crops  of  all  kinds,  in  these  Confederate  States,  never  were  equalled  by  what 
has  this  year  been  garnered  for  our  use.  The  reverse  of  this  is  the  case  in 
all  States  where  there  is  no  fundamental  division  of  classes.  Where  all 
are  theoretically  equal,  those  who  follow  the  lower  pursuits  of  society 
must  be  conciliated,  and  when  they  are  pressed  into  large  armies,  they  not 
only  create  a  heavy  expense  to  be  supplied  by  capitalists,  but  the}-  also 
leave  a  vacuum  in  productive  labor  that  deranges  the  internal  relations 
between  capital  and  labor,  and  this  is  more  deeply  felt  than  even  the  direct 
expenses  for  their  support. 

With  us,  to  a  great  extent,  every  freeman's  home  is  but  a  privileged 
castle,  with  armed  men  ready  to  go  forth  to  the  field  for  defence  and  for 
honor,  while  laborers  on  the  soil  remain,  to  gather  and  garner  up  the  pro- 
duce of  the  earth. 


18 

True,  war  is  a  great  calamity,  but  if  tliis  war  shall  end,  as  there  is  every 
prospect  that  it  will  do,  by  making  us  not  only  politically  independent  of 
our  most  deadly  enemies,  but  commercially  independent  also,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  shall  develope  our  own  artisan  skill  and  mechanical  labor,  so  as  to 
place  us  entirely  beyond  their  subsidy  hereafter,  then,  indeed,  will  it 
prove,  in  the  end,  a  public  blessing. 

We  will  be  left  free  to  develope  our  own  civilization,  and  show,  where  there 
is  an  inferior  caste  in  society,  and  the  higher  and  privileged  race  governs, 
that  a  constitutional  republic  of  States  may  be  established  upon  conservative 
principles  identified  with  all  the  great  ends  of  truth,  justice  and  stability. 
But  if  we  fail  in  this,  then  there  is  no  hope  for  a  government  of  States. 
The  only  advance,  in  substance,  which  we  have  made  over  the  government 
of  our  English  ancestors,  was  the  substitution  of  the  municipal  government 
of  States,  representing  permanent  local  interests  and  territory,  instead  of 
great  landed  proprietors  and  hereditary  rulers.  This  government  of  States 
was  destroyed  by  the  Northern  people,  who,  without  the  conservative  divis- 
ion of  castes,  which  we  have,  endeavored  to  make  the  government  a  simple 
democracy  of  numbers.  This  ended,  as  all  such  governments  must  inevita- 
bly end,  in  corruption,  usurpation  and  revolution.  As  far  as  the  Northern 
States  are  concerned,  their  Government  is  hopelessly  gone,  and  if  we  fail, 
with  all  our  conservative  elements  to  save  us,  then,  indeed,  there  will  be  no 
hope  for  an  independent  and  free  republic  on  this  continent,  and  the  public 
mind  will  despondingly  turn  to  the  stronger  and  more  fised  forms  of  the  old 
world. 

In  this  point  of  view,  I  most  respectfully  urge  that  you  increase  the  power 
and  dignity  of  the  State,  through  all  her  administrative  offices,  and  adhere 
firmly  to  all  the  conservative  principles  of  our  Constitution. 

Clouds  and  darkness  may  rest  upon  our  beloved  country,  but  if  we  are 
true  to  ourselves,  and  just  to  others,  looking  with  confiding  faith  up  to  that 
Providence  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  men  and  of  governments,  we 
will  surely  triumph,  and  come  out  of  our  trials  a  wiser  and  a  better  people. 

F.  W.  PICKENS. 


V 


